Parked at a Volvo cars event, a duo of Ford Transits with a 35 years age gap, give or take a few years. Only a Hymer RV was sitting between the two. Senior is a two-tone, 1983 Transit, transformed into a camper van.
The 1977-1986 series of Transit vans and light trucks was essentially a modernization of the 1965 original version.
The van is powered by a 2.0 liter OHC Pinto engine. Bi-fuel, as it’s also running on LPG. I’m sure the owner has plenty of time to enjoy the scenery, when traveling. Even without a trailer.
With the long wheelbase (300 cm/118.1”) and dual rear wheels, this ‘It’s me – I know’ Transit was the heavy-duty, full-sizer of the family.
Over to junior, clearly operating in another RV segment. Representing the current generation of Ford Transits, yet pre-2020 update, given the grille. It has Luxembourg plates -so I can’t check anything- but it must have a 2.0 liter turbodiesel, purring at the front.
A typical Euro-semi-integrated motorhome, based on Stellantis, Volkswagen (and MAN), Mercedes-Benz, or Ford material.
Cocooning in a Cocoon 463, made by Benimar from Spain. The company was founded in 1974.
For an impression of the interior, you can simply consult YouTube, featuring the latest Ford Transit model.
Now about that Volvo cars event, here’s a sneak preview, with the article’s RVs in the background.
Related article:
CC Global: Ford Transit Mk2 Phase 2 – Mid-Eighties Blue And White Transit Bus
Nice old Transit. The nose on these sure is long, having been extended to make room for the inline engines.
There was always a long nose version they had a inline 4 diesel from day 1, down under the fitted a Falcon six in them but didnt change the diff ratio
The blue and beige colour scheme on the ’83 Transit, is very reminiscent of the beige accent lower body colour used by Ford, in the ’80s and ’90’s on Eddie Bauer Edition vans and suvs.
To me, that beige on the Transit sends strong German Kranken-/Rettungswagen (ambulance) vibes. But if you do a GIS for them (Mk2 Transits), you only get single rear wheels and windows all around.
As mentioned below, the Transit was imported into NL later in its life. Certainly not from the UK, because it’s clearly LHD. The blue paint seems to be sprayed on top of the beige, so to speak.
I love the old (German) Pinto 2.0 and had several of them back in the day, including a hot rodded version but I just can’t wrap my (American) head around it powering a vehicle obviously designed for a lot of weight, as evidenced by the dual rear wheels. It’s great in a ~2000lb vehicle but I wouldn’t consider it in a 4000lb vehicle let alone something like this loaded to capacity.
Its registered GVWR is 2,800 kg/6,170 lbs.
These were also available with 2.8 and 3.0 V6 gasoline engines. And Australia got a 4.1 liter inline-six, if Wiki is correct.
The diesels were 2.4 liter and later on they got a direct injected 2.5 liter (carried over to the next and all new 1986 gen). Not that it helped much -power wise- but at least there was some grunt at low revs, combined with a better mileage.
The article’s gasoline van is a later import into NL, at which point it probably got its LPG system.
Both Bedfords and Transit van got a local 6 implanted in OZ, they were awful as they kept the 4 banger diff head, Big UK cars with the correct diff heads never went to Aussie so the good parts simply arent there
Johannes, may I furnish details of Falcon-engined Transits to you?
From 1973 a 3.3 Litre (aka 200 cid) I-6 became standard fitment to the so-called ‘pig nose’ Transit, coupled to locally produced Borg/Warner 3-speed manual/auto. This engine superseded the previous, locally unsuitable, Essex V-4 which had previously cruelled potential Transit sales here. The 200 was the smallest Falcon engine then current, and its own way quite a sweet unit – very smooth and ‘oversquare’ in design. I doubt Australian showrooms ever saw the Transit V6.
In 1978 as standard-equip for the Mk2 series as per your photos, the old 3.3L was replaced by a recently updated Falcon 250 cid (4.1 litre) variant, now advertised in Transits as the ‘Super Six’. This all-iron donk now featured a Crossflow head – essentially adapting the (also locally manufactured) V8 Cleveland cylinder head design to Ford-Australia’s existing 6cyls.
The Mk2 also ushered in an optional or standard 3.89 diff ratio for improved highway gearing, versus the previous 4.625. Despite the taller diff, both engines delivered very acceptable acceleration in context, for a working Commercial vehicle.
I’m happy to provide you more details and trivia if curious 🙂
Thanks Tim for the additional info!
Why, the 2 litre Pinto is a road-ripping powerhouse – one could get the Mk1 Transits (essentially the same van) with the Perkins 4108 diesel with 45 whole horsepowers.
The current Mk 8 Transit is the first to be sold in the US as well as Europe, having been launched here in 2015 and replacing the E Series (aka Econoline) though chassis cab E vans are still in production. But despite the almost identical appearance between the US and European market Transits, the smallest engine in Europe is a 2.0 diesel four, and the only engines offered in the US now are 3.5 gasoline V6’es, either naturally aspirated or with twin turbo’s. The Euro diesel is available up to 165 PS and the NA and turbo US engines are 275 and 310 HP respectively. Any way you slice it, that early Transit with the 2.0 Pinto engine must have been really slow, though probably quicker than the very first ones with the Ford V4, as small as 1.3 liters but more typically 1.7.
I just checked our Ford website, the only IC-engine available in the Transit is the 2.0 liter turbodiesel you mention, max. 165 DIN-hp (= PS), indeed. It’s either the turbodiesel or the fully electric E-Transit.
The first prize for the most powerful diesel engine here in a full-size van goes to the Iveco Daily, 3.0 liter inline-four, max. 154 kW/210 DIN-hp. The Daily is the king of the full-size vans (not only power-wise).
I looked at the UK Ford site before I posted my above comment (language, you know 😀) and there it’s available with 105, 130 and 165 PS engines. The 2.0 diesel was announced for the US market in 2020 as a replacement for the 3.2 diesel, but as far as I know was dropped before any were sold. I did forget about the E-Transit. There are a few in my town, one run by an electrician, one by a small distillery, and another by a guy who occasionally prunes our fruit trees who added it to his fleet of (two) diesel Sprinters.
I dived somewhat deeper into our brochures…
105, 130, 150 and 165 are the available PS ratings. And as it turned out, the most powerful chassis-cab version has 170 instead of 165 PS.